Chris Driedger was born on May 18, 1994 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Driedger played his first season in the Western Hockey League for the Tri-City Americans in 2010-11. He was sent to the Calgary Hitmen following the season and would spend the rest of his WHL career with the club.

Drafted in the third round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators, Driedger continued to play with the Calgary Hitmen though to the end of the 2013–14 season. During his final season in the WHL, Driedger was the last member of the Hitmen to play the puck before it was inadvertently put into the empty net of the Kootenay Ice. He became the sixth goaltender in WHL history and the first in the Hitmen franchise history to be credited with scoring a goal.

2014-15 would be Driedger's first full professional season. He would start the year as a member of the Evansville IceMen of the ECHL, with whom he would appear in 40 games, recording a 3.78 goals-against-average and a .855 save percentage. Injuries between the pipes in the Senators organization made way for Driedger's speedy promotion. He would also appear in eight American Hockey League games for the Binghamton Senators, putting up an impressive 2.55 goals-against-average and a .923 save percentage. Driedger's progression would stop there. On March 26, 2015, he made his NHL debut against the New York Rangers, entering the game in the second period and turning aside all 10 shots he faced.